This all happened by accident.
I enjoy listening to podcasts.
I enjoy them so much, that I try to devour as many as I can (I commute a lot). How do I optimize that? I realized that I can incrementally turn up the playback speed, and barely notice the change. If you notch it up slowly, your brain adjusts to the accelerated conversation rate very easily.
Currently I listen to podcasts at about 1.5 x playback speed without noticing them talk faster. That means that I can go through a 90 minute podcast in just 60 minutes.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I absorb material much more efficiently by taking notes. Short notes, usually just bullet points of the main ideas. Since I do this in Evernote, it also gives me something to search and reference in the future. As I speed up my listening, I’m inadvertently speeding up my thinking and synthesizing of information. My brain is working faster.
I didn’t realize that I was doing this until a company meeting a few weeks ago. It was a three hour meeting, and a couple of us were taking notes. When comparing them after the fact, nobody else’s were anywhere near as extensive or organized as mine. I didn’t think that I did anything special until people were surprised by how well my document captured the depth and flow of the conversation. To me it was just second nature, something that I do every morning on my commute to work.
My note taking improved, the speed at which I process new information has improved, and even my capacity to learn has grown since combining Evernote with accelerated listening.
I didn’t mean to, but I think that I accidentally sped up my brain.
Additional notes:
Evernote – if you’re not using it, you’re not optimizing your life flow:
For a great Android Podcast App, try Podcast Addict:
Best podcast on the Internet is definitely the Tim Ferriss Show – it HAS changed my life:
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